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Victoria Falls = Unbelievably Beautiful!

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Ellen

(This is part of a trip report to Africa, flying United Global Business/First, costing $87 and 120,000 miles which were Ultimate Reward points from my Chase Ink card, transferred to United.)

On our last day at Little Makalolo, we went on one last safari drive in Hwange and discovered a group of eight giraffes! What an exciting send off!

I just LOVE how giraffes walk, so very majestically! One place I read about them called it a “languid stroll.” They can also run, up to 30 mph! Unfortunately, we never saw that…

And then we were off in the Cessna 206 for a short flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We wanted to maximize our one night stay there and immediately left to tour the falls.

Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The locals call it, “Smoke that Thunders.” I can understand why because the closer you get, the harder it is to see because of the mist and you are guaranteed to get wet!

It was just spectacularly beautiful and my pictures hardly do it justice!

The falls are fed by the Zambezi River and are one mile wide and 360 feet high!

Notice my African safari vest, purchased at the airport in Joburg for $13! It had lots of pockets and I wore it almost every day!

This is the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Coming soon, flying over the falls and the majestic Victoria Falls hotel.

3 African animals you’ve never heard of!

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Ellen

(This is part of a trip report to Africa; I flew United First/Business Class using 120,000 miles and $87).

A wildebeast (wil-duh-beest) is a large antelope. A male serenades a female by humming, bellowing, and croaking, isn’t that romantic?!

They were too busy eating to even glance at us. Check out the baboon in the forefront of the picture!

Steenboks are a small antelope. There were herds of them all over, but they were skittish. They run from their predator in a zig zag fashion!

I’m not much of a “birder,” but I loved one bird in Africa – the Lilac Breasted Roller, or LBR for short. Their colors are absolutely magnificent!

Our third day in Hwange, Zimbabwe, we saw a pride of eighteen lions!

I always wonder, “What are they thinking?” when an animal seems to make direct eye contact like this! Maybe something like, “WHAT in the world are you doing?”

Mother nature is amazing and it’s wonderful to see different species together! Our first day we saw six species near the same water hole: jackal, eland, elephant, zebra, baboon, and impala. (Sorry, my picture of that didn’t turn out). But here are two together…

We saw this mama elephant, with two babies, about two and seven years old. Our guides were such experts on everything about the animals. I love the reflection in the water!

Elephants drink about 100-300 liters per day…

Just as sunset was ending, a hippo pops out of the water!

These pictures are all from one evening…the sunsets were extraordinarily beautiful!

This is one of my favorites…

Next up, giraffes and Victoria Falls!

Lions are KING!

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Ellen

(This is part of a trip report to Africa. I flew United First/Business class to Africa, using 120,000 miles and $87!) Our first full day in Zimbabwe, we went on a “Ferrari Safari,” as our guide called it, as we raced along the dirt roads to see the lions! Most of the pride was gone, except for this male and the dominant female.

One thing that was a surprise was how relaxed the lions seem, but they are truly the “king” of the animal kingdom. They sleep about twenty-two hours a day and NO animal bothers them.

I thought it was weird to see palm trees in the desert, and our guide explained that the elephants brought it when they migrated over one hundred years ago (the seeds were in their dung)!

One of my favorite animals was the zebra – they were more skittish than I thought they would be.

It’s hard to get pictures of baby elephants, their moms are VERY protective and shield them, but these are some from that first day.

This is a steenbok, similar to a deer, with a termite mound behind it.

A herd of kudu…we ate some at our other camp. It was tough and not very tasty.

Hundreds of cape buffalo behind our camp one afternoon. They are the most ferocious land animal (and one of the ugliest too)!

We went to a “hide,” (a man-made structure, made to look natural) to watch the cape buffalo as they came to drink. The female is on the left, with two males on the right.

A bird at the water hole…

These were taken that afternoon from our front porch! (I did use a zoom lens throughout the trip)!

Our giraffe sighting, just as sunset began…

Amazing African sunset…the shadow is an elephant.

Next up, hippos and more animals.

“Glamping” at Little Makalolo!

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Ellen

(This is part of a trip report to Africa.) Johannesburg, or Joburg, as the natives call it, was just a stopping place for us. We visited friends there before we left for our first safari camp. We spent two nights at the Intercontinental hotel, right next to the airport. Thanks to the Chase IHG credit card, which gives you 60,000 points, we were able to use 40,000 points and $140 for two nights in an upgraded room. I love this credit card because you get one free night each year, a wonderful perk!

The foyer…

Fruit and water are always appreciated, plus some snacks (in the top drawer) along with tea/coffee maker.

And last, the spacious marble restroom, with a glass enclosed shower! It was an extremely comfortable room and a great place to get over jet lag!

We flew to Victoria Falls airport in Zimbabwe, where we were met by the Wilderness Safari (more on that later) representative for our short flight in this Cessna 206!

A watering hole from the air; it was winter there, which is the dry season.

And here’s our tent! It had no electricity, but lights and hot water via solar power and generator. Little Makalolo only has six tents, plus one family tent, so it was homey and fun to visit with the other guests at meal times.

Every night we had turn down service and a hot water bottle in our bed – VERY much appreciated because it got COLD!

I loved the copper sinks, shined twice a day by the housekeeping staff. All the staff, including guides, live on the property. They work six weeks on, two weeks off OR four weeks on, one week off. And most live far away. But they were all glad for a good job. The corner area is the indoor shower.

I didn’t get a picture of the toilet area; it was a room to the right, with a screen window and one afternoon we saw elephants at the water hole outside our window!

Our outdoor shower, which we used every afternoon in the heat. It was only cold early morning and late evening.

A day bed…

And a desk…the platform you see outside is where you are supposed to walk to and from the common area. This camp is in the middle of Hwange Park and you aren’t allowed to wonder around because there are wild animals (you are in Africa)! Each night our ARMED guide would escort us to the tent, where we had a horn to blow in case of emergencies!

Our front door, with our porch outside.

The common area, with afternoon tea on the bottom right of the picture. I LOVED the white beaded edged netting that covers the food – I finally found one to purchase in Capetown.